Map displaying mechanism



March .1, 1932. M. D. M CAULEY MAP DISPLAYING MECHANISM Fi led June 26, 1950 4 Sheet-Sheet INVENTOR March 1, 1932. M. D. MCCAULEY MAP DI SPLAYING MEGHANI SM Filed June 26. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 C c0 9?] i R INVENTOR :lYgranEMcCauley h N av K O an u 5 I E I ATTORNEYS March 1, 1932. M MCCAULEY 1,847,722

MAP DISPLAYING MECHANISM Filed June 26, 1950 @Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTO RN EY5 March 1, 1932. MCCAULEY MAP DISPLAYING MECHANISM 1930 4 SheetsSheet 4 Filed June 26..

IflfllfifllllilIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIlllft vlli'll'll rlllll INVENTOR ATTO RN EY! Patented Mar. 1, 1932 moan. MCCAULEEOF ROYAL A1: rownsrrir; 0mm COUNTY, MICHIGAN MAP DISPLAYING micmimsm Application'filed June 26,

The presentinvention pertains to a novel map displayingmechanism of a type particularly adapted for use in conjunction with maps which are formed in several sections of '8 size and weight that make it practically impossible to move them about by hand.

The primary object of the present invention is to devise a mechanism of the above named type wherein the .several sections of a sectional map or any other display board are stored in compactnature, the mechanism being capable of selectively engaging a section in a manner to move it to the foremost extremity wherein it is received in a suitable rack and then the mechanism is disconnected from said section and may be utilized to engage another section and place it in said rack upon the top of said first named section. V The mechanism for raising andmoving the sections is provided with either manual or power driven operating means which renders the mechanism capable of handling relatively heavy maps of which the weights of the separate sections range upwardly from a hundred weight. i

' l ith the above and other ends in view the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figurell is a top plan view of the present device illustrating the hand operated mech' anism; I V

i Fig. 2 is a front elevation; e a

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional plan iew taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, or the line 3 3 of Fig. 4; i

Fig. 4 is an end view taken in direct-projection from Fig. 3; 1 Y

Fig. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view;

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views illustrating the manner in which the mechanism engages the different map sections; s

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view illustrating the manner in which roller bearings are insertedin the ends of the several map sections to readily permit their withdrawal from the racks;

F ig.-9 is an end elevation of the present de- 1930.- Serial n. 464,072.

vice illustrating the power driven mechanism,

Fig.10 is across sectional plan thereof gakendsubstantially on the line 1010 of Fig.

' Fig. 11 illustrates the automatic means for stopping one of the motors.

Like characters of reference are employed throughout to designate the corresponding parts.

The numeral 1 indicates a frame which is open at the front and back having racks formed therein and comprising the rails 2 secured to the end walls thereof, the front rail 3 continuing through to the top of the frame with the exception of a relatively small opening 4. Sections 5 of a sectional map have their ends received between the rails and are supported thereby, each section having dowel pins 6 mounted in their upper edges and dowel holes 7 formed'in'their lower edges to permit a section to be placed upon the top of another section in the proper alinement.

A pair of tracks 8 are'mounted upon the upper surface of the frame 1, one of the tracks receiving the wheel 9 mounted on one end of a shaft 10 and the other track supporting a trolley 11' which supports the opposite end of the shaft. Pinions 12 are mounted upon each end of the shaft 10 to mesh with racks 13 mounted upon the frame 1 and a wheel 14 is mounted upon the outer extremity of the shaft 10 to receive a chain or rope to facilitate manual rotation of the shaft. It is apparent that rotation of the shaft 10 with the pinions s5 12 meshing with the racks 13 causes the shaft to be propelled to and fro across the tracks 8.

A sleeve 15 surrounds the shaft 10 and has one end supported by a bearing member 15 mounted on the shaft 10 and spaced from the wheel 9 by a spacer sleeve 15a and the opposite end of the sleeve, is keyed to a bearing member 16 which loosely surrounds the shaft 10. The bearing member 16 extends through the trolley 11 and assists in supporting the shaft 10 as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

A wheel 17 is keyed to the outer end of the bearing member 16 and is adapted to receive a chain or rope 16' to permit manual rotation of the sleeve 15 and a ratchet wheel is keyed to the bearing member 16 and is engaged by a pawl 19 supported in the trolley 11 to prevent backward rotation of the sleeve. Any suitable means may be employed to release the pawl in order to permit backward rotation of the sleeve or hooks 20 may be provided on the frame 1 over which the operating chain on the wheel 17 may be hooked to prevent rotation of the sleeveexcept when desired the hooks eliminating the use of the ratchet and pawl.

Sheaves 21 are mounted upon the sleeve 15 and secured thereto are cordsor ropes 22 having headed members 23 secured to the ends thereof. '-The upper edges of the sections are each provided with key-hole slots 24 which receive the head on the member 23 to permit the ropesto be detachably secured to the map sections.

In operation the wheel 14 is rotated in the proper direction to bring the sheaves 21 over the map section to be displayed. The headed members 23 are then inserted in the key-hole 5 slots 24 and the wheel 17 is rotated causing the ropes 22 to be wound around the sheaves 21 and the map section to be withdrawn from the racks; When the map section is suspended at a suitable height the wheel 14 is again rotated causing movement of the shaft and sleeve so that the section may be lowered, by rotating the wheel 17 in the reverse direction, into the space between the front rail 3 and the next adjacent rail 2. The

ropes'are then disengaged from the section and another section 1s engaged in the same -manner and moved toa position upon top of the above described section.

To permit work being done upon the map sections they may be suspended as illustrated in Fig. 5 in which one edge of the board is supported by the ropes 22 while the opposite edge extends through the opening 4.

To prevent the sections of the map from i assuming anangular position while they are being raised from or lowered into the racks which would cause binding of the corners and make movement thereof diflicult the sections are each provided with rollers 26 which are inserted in the edges thereof. The rollers may be conventional ball castors and they contact with the ends of'the frames 1 to reduce the friction of the map sections-as they are moved therein.

The above described embodiment of the present invention is manually operated and the present invention further aims to provide means for operating the device by means of electric motors. This is accomplished by mounting brackets 27 and 28 on the trolley 11 to support reversible electric motors 29 and 30 respectively. A gear wheel 31 is substituted for the wheel 14 and a gear wheel 32 is substituted'for the wheel 17 the gear wheel 31 being driven by the power take-off 33 on 7 in their desired rack is provided and in addition the present invention also provides means for automatically stopping both motors 29 and 30; The motor 29 is automatically stopped when it has raised or lowered the map section the required distance and the motor 30 is automatically stopped when it reaches a point close to either end of the track 8.

To shut the motor 30 off when the trolleys reach their limit of movement on the track 8 there are provided circuit controlling switches 40 adjacent each end ofthe track. Each switch is constructed sothatit breaks the electrical circuit when the bell crank lever 41 is depressed and each 'lever'is equipped with a'roller 42 which is engaged by the cams 43 that are mounted'on each end of the trolley 11. The cams 43 when they come in contact with the roller 42 onthe bell crank on the switch at either end of the track 8 cause the circuit to the motor 30 to be broken and the trolley becomes stationary.

To cut off the power to the motor 29 when a map section has been raised or lowered the required distance by rotation of the sleeve 15 there is provided a worm 44 integral with the sleeve 15 and a block 45 is mounted upon the worm, a guide rod 46 being provided to passthrough the block to prevent rotation thereof. As the sleeve rotates the worm 44 also rotates and causes the block 45 to move longitudinally on the worm and guide rod 46 and the block is provided with a cam surface 47- which engages rollers 48 on the bell crank 50 that control the switches 49. The switches are spaced a predetermined distance apart so that the sleeve 15 rotates enough to either raise or lower a map section the required distance before the cam 47 engages either of the rollers or either of the switches. 4

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims, and such changes are contemplated.

What I claim is 1. A device of the character described comprising a frame having a pair of tracks and to engage said racks in a mannerwhereby rotation of the shaft causes the same to be moved to and fro in said tracks, and a sleeve surrounding said shaft and rotatable independently thereon, said sleeve having sheaves mounted thereon to receive flexible members adapted to engage any of said map sections in a manner to raise or lower the same.

2. A device of the character described com-- prising a frame having a pair of tracks and a pair of racks mounted thereon, a shaft having one end supported by a roller received in one of said tracks and the opposite end supported in a trolley received in the other of said tracks, pinions mounted on said shaft to engage said racks in a manner whereby rotation of the shaft causes the same to be moved to and fro in said tracks, a sleeve surrounding said shaft and rotatable independently thereon, said sleeve having sheaves mounted thereon to receive flexible members adapted to engage any of said map sections in a manner to raise or lower the same, a wheel keyed to said shaft to rotate the same, and a wheel connected to said sleeve to impart rotation thereto.

3. A device of the character described comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality of map sections, a shaft supported in'tracks on said frame in a manner whereby rotation of the shaft causes the same to move to and fro across said frame, means carried by said shaft and rotatable independently thereon for engaging any of said sections in a manner whereby rotation thereof causes the engaged section to be raised or lowered, a gear wheel mounted upon said shaft, a reversible motor mounted upon said trolley for rotating said.

wheel, a sleeve surrounding said shaft and rotatable independently thereon, a gear wheel loosely supported upon said shaft and keyed to said sleeve, a second reversible motor mounted on said trolley for rotating said second named gear wheel, and automatically operated controlling members for said motors.

4. A device of the character described comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality of sections of a map, a shaft supported upon said frame in a manner whereby rotation thereof causes the same to move to and-fro relative to the frame, a sleeve surrounding said shaft and having means mounted thereon for engaging said sections in a manner whereby rotation of said sleeve causes said map sections to be raised or lowered, a gear wheel mounted upon said shaft, a reversible motor for rotating said wheel, a gear wheel loosely supported on said shaft and connected to said sleeve, a reversible motor for rotating said last named gear wheel, and automatic shut-offs for each of said motors.

5. A device of the character described comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality of map sections, a shaft supported in tracks on said frame in a manner whereby rotation of. the shaft causes the same to move to and fro across said frame, means carried by said shaft and rotatable independently thereon for enga ing any of said sections in a manner where y rotation thereof causes the engaged section to be raised or lowered, a gear wheel mounted upon said shaft, a reversible motor mounted upon said trolley for rotating said wheel, a sleeve loosely surrounding said shaft, a gear wheel loosely supported upon said shaft and keyed to said sleeve, a second reversible motor mounted on said trolley for rotating said second named gear wheel, and automatic shut-offs for each of said motors.

6. A device of the character described comprising a frame for receiving a plurality of map sections, a shaft supported in tracks by a trolley, a rotatable sleeve carried by said shaft and having means for selectively engaging said map sect-ions, a motor for rotating said shaft, a motor for rotating said sleeve, and an automatic shut-off for each of said motors.

7. A device of the character described comprising a frame for receiving a plurality of map sections, a shaft supported in tracks by a trolley, a rotatable sleeve carried by said shaft and having means for selectively engaging said map sections, a motor forrotating said shaft, a motor for rotating said sleeve, switches positioned adjacent the ends of said tracks and engaged by cams mounted upon said trolley to break the circuit to the motor rotating said shaft, and an automatic cut off for the other of said motors adapted to stop rotation of the sleeve.

8. A device of the character described comprising a frame for receiving a plurality of map sections, a shaft supported in tracks by a trolley, a rotatable sleeve carried by said shaft and having means for selectively engaging said map sections, a motor for rotating said shaft, a motor for rotating said sleeve, an automatic shut off for stopping said motor when the trolley reaches either end of the track, and a switch controlling block mounted on a worm integral with said sleeve to engage switches to break the electrical circuit to said motor rotating the sleeve when the map section has been raised or lowered a suflicient distance.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

MYRON D. MOCAULEY. 

